Apparel, footwear and insulative casing, such as sleeping bags, worn or used by mammals, particularly human beings, are typically thermally insulated by means of a thick or a plurality of wool or other fabric layers per se or insulative foam, wool or other fabric material between an inner lining and the outer skin of cloth making up the jacket, trousers, coats, sleeping bags and the like.
At present, satisfactory insulated apparel in cold or very cold environments generally needs to be bulky in order to provide a satisfactory comfort level.
There is, however, a need to provide thermally insulated clothing that provides satisfactory thermal insulation that is not relatively bulky.
Reflective metal polymeric insulation materials are known in the construction industry, particularly for use in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and establishments, wherein the insulation material is adjacent frame structures, walls, crawl spaces, ceilings, around water heaters and pipes and under concrete floors and roads. Examples of such uses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,873—issued Nov. 27, 2001 to Orologio, Furio and U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,439—issued May 13, 2003 to Orologio, Furio; and Canadian Patent No. 2,554,754—issued Dec. 4, 2007 to Orologio, Furio.
International Patent Application serial number PCT/US2005/031197, entitled “Heat-Reflective Nonwoven Liner Material”, filed Aug. 30, 2004 and published to Russell, Robert D., et al. describes a heat reflective garment with an interlining laminate metalized garment fabric which includes a continuous filament nonwoven layer and metalized thermoplastic film layer. The continuous filament nonwoven layer is formed from a thermoplastic polymer and is affixed to the metalized thermoplastic film layer by a lamination process. In some instances the continuous filament nonwoven layer may include surface projections or apertures, however there are no perforations in the metalized thermoplastic layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,221, entitled “Breathable Film Compositions and Articles and Method”, issued Feb. 20, 2001 to McAmish, Larry, et al., describes a breathable film that can be extruded onto a substrate such as a porous fabric. Such breathable films consist essentially of blends of a high moisture vapour transmission rate thermoplastic and a low moisture vapour transmission rate thermoplastic. The blending of the two thermoplastics allows for the varying of the ratios between the two so as to produce a film having the desired moisture vapour transmission rate.
International Patent Application serial number PCT/GB2005/001432, entitled “Articles of Clothing” filed Apr. 14, 2005 and published to Lloyd, David describes an article of clothing comprising an insulating layer portion which comprises a section of bubble wrap material made from latex rubber in which there are a plurality of trapped bubbles of gas sandwiched between a layer of an absorbent material and a waterproof layer.
European Patent Application serial number 1 974 619 entitled “Material for Underwater Suit and Underwater Suit Making Use of the Same”, filed Aug. 30, 2005 to Yamamoto, Tomizo describes a material for underwater suits comprising an elastic foam layer, such as neoprene, having a plurality of recesses formed on one side thereof. The plurality of recesses are intended to be directed towards a wearer's body when formed into a suit for underwater use. Another layer, the coating layer, is provided on the elastic layer so as to cover the recesses and provide heat-retaining and buoyancy properties to the material. On the opposing side, the elastic layer is laminated to a stretchable fabric. In some embodiments, a metal foil layer is also added to be formed in the material or fabric.
Canadian Patent Application serial number 2,218,282, filed Dec. 12, 2003 to Perron, Maurice describes clothing having an insulating layer. The insulating layer is formed of a bubble-wrap layer sandwiched between a layer of aluminum film on each side thereof. In such an arrangement, the reflective side of the aluminum foil is provided facing away from the bubble-wrap layer and a layer of a textile is provided onto the aluminum foil layers.
U.S. Patent Application Publication number US 2004/0159011, entitled “Thermal Foot Cover”, filed Feb. 12, 2004 to Gordon, Dave describes a thermal foot cover to be worn when the wearer's foot is subjected to cold temperatures.
An outer covering is provided which has a radiant barrier on the inside thereof disposed towards the wearer's foot. The radiant barrier is made of a metalized flexible polymeric material where the metalized flexible polymeric material is a bubble-pack material sandwiched between two sheets of aluminum foil.